Team news: Los Angeles Rams | Page 31

Lions QB Matthew Stafford suffered a rib cartilage injury, per source. Team not overly optimistic he can play vs. the Titans.

Stafford, of course, has played through a lot of injuries in his career so the team is not closing the door, but with the season lost there isn't much of a reason to put an injury Stafford on the field. Daniel would get the start if Stafford can't go. Owners should probably start thinking of a backup plan.

Detroit Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell said Monday the team will likely take the decision to the end of the week whether to play starting quarterback Matthew Stafford after he injured his ribs in Sunday's loss to Green Bay.

Related players: Chase Daniel, David Blough

When asked if Stafford had broken any ribs, Bevell said X-rays came back negative, but he did not have more information on the extent of his injury. While the Lions figure out their quarterback situation, Bevell said backups Daniel and Blough will take more reps this week in practice while Stafford tries to heal.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford’s status is in doubt for Sunday against the Titans.

Related players: Chase Daniel

Rapoport added Stafford hasn’t been ruled out yet. As Rapoport noted, Stafford is tough but has played through a lot this year and in his career. However, he was in a ton of pain last night after his rib injury, according to the tweet. Daniel would step in if Stafford can't play.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford is questionable for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, according to Tim Twentyman of the Detroit Lions.

Stafford has not missed a game since sustaining the injuries, so this is just business.

Heading into the contest, Brandon Aiyuk had played one game in the last month and the thought was that he’d have fresh legs against the Bills. Nick Mullens targeted him nine times and Aiyuk finished with five catches for 95 yards, including a rare — for the 49ers — deep ball down the sideline for 49 yards.

How rare was it? According to the NFL’s NextGen stats, the ball traveled 54.1 yards in the air. That ranks in the middle of the pack among NFL long balls but is the longest completed throw in terms of air yards by a 49ers quarterback this season. Jimmy Garoppolo had a completion that traveled 43.1 yards earlier this season. Garoppolo had one of 57.2 yards — to Emmanuel Sanders against the Saints — last season.

Aiyuk also drew a pass-interference penalty on a deep ball on the 49ers’ opening drive that flipped the field position and indirectly led to the 49ers’ first score — a 2-yard pass to Aiyuk. Reports said Aiyuk is more of a pure receivers vs. Deebo Samuel who is also used a lot in sweeps and gadget plays. Aiyuk could be worth a grab if he's still on your wire.

To view Jalen Hurts as the Eagles’ likely quarterback of the future would be a mistake. The most likely scenario is that Hurts is not the long-term answer. That’s not me being harsh and counting a guy out before he even starts a game. That’s just what history tells us. From 2008 to 2017 (I’m using this range so that we get at least three full years of each player), 24 quarterbacks were taken on Day 2 of the draft. Among that group, six became starters: Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton and Jimmy Garoppolo. This is not complex math, but we can say that the chances based on that sample of finding a starter in the second or third round is roughly 25 percent.

Related players: Carson Wentz

The story went on to say the one thing the Eagles cannot do is convince themselves that Hurts is the guy after a four-game sample. The goal should just be information gathering. It’s possible they learn that the offensive system and surrounding talent aren’t the problem, and the issues were even more Wentz-related than suspected. It’s also possible they discover the offensive system and surrounding talent are the problem, and it doesn’t really matter who’s playing quarterback, the story all said. The author said given that Hurts had a shortened offseason and no preseason, he would expect that we’d see a heavy QB-inclusive run game and a simplified passing game in which he’s encouraged to take off if he doesn’t like what he sees - for those interested in plugging in Hurts for Week 14.

Kyle Shanahan was asked about the prospect of getting George Kittle and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back into the lineup. Garoppolo suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s November 1 loss to the Seahawks, which was the same day that Kittle was injured and Shanahan suggested both players need more time before they can think about activating them from injured reserve.

“Those guys are working their tails off right now,” Shanahan said, via Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. “But they’re still part of the rehab, just trying to get back and be a part of this, but it’s not anytime soon right now.”

Kittle said last week that he expects to return from a broken bone in his foot “sooner than later,” according to the story, which caused a bit of a buzz and likely had fantasy owners scrambling to pick up Kittle off the wire and stash him on IR. While anything can happen, those hopes seem to be squashed based on this story. Still, if you can afford to stash Kittle on IR as you head into the fantasy playoffs, it may not be a terrible idea. However roster sports are extra valuable right now.